A controversial Welsh independence party which promotes a tax system attacked for favouring the rich, has finally been launched, backed by a right wing pensioner who supports a paramilitary group and posted a picture of its leader holding a gun on his nationalist blog, it has emerged.

Cayo Evans with gun – as seen on the ‘Jac o’ the North’ blog

The contentious party Ein Gwlad (Our Land/Country/Nation) was unveiled at Llanellli on Tuesday, and another nationalist blog had ‘reported’ earlier that a first ‘conference’ was to be held before the end of the year. The man behind it, Royston Jones, celebrates his links to the 1960s paramilitary organisation Free Wales Army (FWA) and publisheda photograph of the group’s leader pointing a gun at the camera.

In his picture others look on laughing as Cayo Evans holds the hand gun, and Mr Jones has praised him as a “friend”and “comrade”.

Cayo Evans – a ‘comrade’ of Royston Jones

Mr Jones writes a ‘right of centre nationalist’ blog under the psedonym ‘Jac o’ the North’ that fiercely attacks English ‘incomers’.

His new party, Ein Gwlad, is committed to a ‘flat rate of tax’ which was floated by the right wing think tank The Adam Smith Institute whose report does not adequately explain how the flat tax would not just be a tax break for the rich. But the party proclaims: “By adopting a flat rate of tax with appropriate allowance and rate, lower and medium earners would be better off, while higher earners would pay slightly more but not excessively so”.

[amazon_link asins=’1784758248′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’thebridgegall-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’d88d9d34-aad7-11e8-9a45-c102fd4a9571′]Despite this, officialsat the party’s launch said: “Ein Gwlad is unequivocally committed to achieving a fair and prosperous independent Wales, in the shortest practical timescale”. One supporter said Ein Gwlad’s policies would raise Wales “from under the crushing heel of unionist repressive policies that have with held the country from achieving its full potential”.

Picture on ‘Jac o’ the North’ blog advertising ‘Ein Gwlad’

Yet the partyhas been mired in controversy even before its launch this week. Another backer has stated publicly: “When the day for the official launch arrives, we’ll be fully kitted and armed”. A supporter said in November: “Jac o’ the North says that following a successful first meeting the details of a new Welsh political party should be revealed in March 2018 once they are ironed out”.

Meanwhile Mr Jones’ support for the FWA and previous statements have been questioned.

It has been reported that the Official IRA (OIRA) gave or sold, most of its weapons to the organisation as part of its turn away from political violence in the 1960s. We showed how he pledged to create the new Welsh independence party by earlier this year, with an Annual General Meeting (AGM) penciled in for March 3, but nothing happened.

Hotel – ‘concerns’

The original Aberystwyth hotel where he was to hold his first meeting in November, cancelled the booking after we uncovered the details, before he found another venue, yet he seemed unhappy about our reporting of it. Mr Jones had booked a room for 50-60 people at the Belle Vue Royal Hotel, on Marine Terrace in Aberystwyth for 1pm, November 4 for his original event founding the new independence party.

But the hotel sent a message to Mr Jones notifying him: “With regards to … concerns, we have now cancelled your meeting room with full refund of payment”. He then advertised on his blog a new venue, with the words: “I am delighted to announce that a meeting has been arranged for November 18th in Aberystwyth to discuss the formation of a new political party to defend Wales’ interests”.Irritating little git?

It seemed our Editor had become something of an irritant and on November 19 Mr Jones had written on his blog: “The meeting yesterday went very, very well. I was delighted with the turnout and with the enthusiasm shown…perhaps the one disappointment – given the interest he’s shown in the new party – was that Phil Parry of The Eye wasn’t there. You could have had a scoop, Parry – ‘Shock! Horror! irritating little git thrown out of meeting”.

Attacker

On November 22 he wrote after an earlier article on The Eye: “Following Phil Parry’s latest attack on me I asked for the right to reply (there has been no such request), but he hasn’t responded. I’d prefer to ignore the irritating little git but he is now making serious and misleading allegations that have to be answered”.

Plainly, despite our factual revelations, Mr Jones was troubled by our intervention, and wrote on his blog: “He(another critic of the plan) used the lies peddled by Phil Parry on The Eye”.

Mr Jones may have blamed our Editor in the past, but he has used ‘lies’ before in describing him. More than three years ago he called Mr Parry “a lying bastard” and dubbed him “vermin”. This infuriated his child, Gruff, and he sent him a tweet saying he was “sonofvermin”.

The paramilitary Free Wales Army lives on?

Mr Jones said on Jac o’ the North: “That lying bastard Phil Parry never misses an opportunity to twist or invent ‘facts’”. He continued: “He’s a mouthpiece for the Labour Party (many of The Eye articles have been about the misdeeds of Labour politicians) and often ‘trails’ stories for Llais y Sais (we never write ‘trails’ for other organisations)“.

Mr Jones’ attempt to create the new independence party was also the subject of our satirist Edwin Phillips. It came soon after controversy was prompted by his personal views.They pretend they are ready

The equal treatment of disabled people is viewed by commentators as a progressive mark of civilised countries, and it is seen as important to address debilitating illnesses, but it seems Mr Jones does not agree. One of the lines by him on Jac o’ the North which caused particular offence was: “Am I alone in thinking there’s an element of a Victorian freak show in the Paralympics?”.

A post on the Republic website concluded: “(Royston Jones was) awarded …that week’s Full of Shit award. It was well merited (as this was a) primitive attitude to disabled people.”The ‘Full of Shit’ award – ‘well-merited’

Mr Jones also promoted a petition calling for social housing only for people from Wales. Families from London who took homes from a Welsh housing association were heavily criticised, and they were called perverts.

Readers have been dismayed by what has appeared on Mr Jones’ blog.One commentator on The Eye said: “The man (Royston Jones) and the knuckle draggers that follow him are fascistic ethnic nationalists end of and don’t really deserve the air of publicity except to say that wales has an alarmingly high number (of) far right supremacists who have convinced themselves they have oppressed status so think its okay to demonise ordinary people like retirees from English cities who’ve moved within their own nation state”.

Another critic of Mr Jones told us: “I feel like taking a bath after I read his stuff.”There may now be more stuff to read after the launch of a new Welsh independence party Mr Jones backs which supports a tax system accused of giving the rich more money.

Tomorrow more revelations of the “chaos” inside a controversial Welsh university where staff tell us they are too frightened to be identified.